sullivans maternal sale

[HeiferShower14]

whats the sale like? what do the open heifers usally bring?

 

[kane1598]

We bought a heifer in their spring sale, the heifers are not cheap. But i will say that we were treated like gold, and could not be happier with our purchase. The top seller normally brings around 35,000 for half interest I beleive. But with any sale there are a few sleepers. If you are serious about getting a shorthorn, Sullivans is the best in North America in my opinion.

 

[HeiferShower14]

okay thanks what can you usally get one for

 

[shortdawg]

I'd say from 2,500 - 30,000 - most breds from 3,000 - 5,000

 

[showman ne]

tops usually around 60-65k for heifers, average around 10k, lots of good ones for 3-5k. heifer in my avatar was a 5k purchase. little brother paid 3k last year and was hi point shorty in the Nebraska points deal. just gotta be patient. i'd call and talk to one of the guys there, they will be able to give you some ideas of cattle in your budget

 

[OH Breeder]

We took a trip out there over the weekend this past weekend. you couldn't ask for more hospitable people. Mr Elder is a very nice guy and Andi who helps coordinate things is real sweet heart. Tell them what your budget is and I think they will be able to help you find something to fit. They really do a nice job.

 

[oakbar]

There are 3 sales in Iowa that weekend--Cyclone Trace, Generations of Excellence, and Sullivan's.   All of them include offerings from reputable breeders and offer some great cattle.

If you've never attended a Sullivan Maternal Legends Sale I encourage you to do so.   You'll definitely see a excellent group of cattle, have a chance to talk with many very knowledgeable people in the industry, and have a good time while doing it.   There are many excellent herds of cattle in the Shorthorn breed that are well represented and marketed well--  John, his family, and his staff are certainly in the upper echelon of the breed in this regard.

I also really enjoy the hospitality and quality of cattle at the Cyclone Trace Up Front Sale.   John Hagie, Pete Hunter, and the staff really put on an excellent sale.   Nice setting, great cattle, and a really good time.

I've only had the chance to attend one Generations of Excellence sale  but-- from what I saw at that sale and everything I've heard from others in the breed--those Creston area breeders do it up right every year.

You really can't miss by attending any of these Iowa sales-- you'll almost certainly see animals that will become very familiar names in the breed  and have an excellent time while you're doing it!!   I'm going to Dunlap to get a preview this weekend and hopefully we'll get a chance to stop by Clarion on the way home.   

 

[Jacob B]

That sale itself I don't know a bunch about.  But, if your looking for GREAT shorthorn genetics and people, that's the place to go in my opinion.  I have found some that I didn't spend a bunch for that have flat out produced for me, in the show ring and in the pasture.  If there is a cow family that your looking for, let them know and sooner or later you'll be able to find one in your price range.  They can't all go into the fall sale.  There are some flat out awsome cattle that just don't get into the sale because they don't fit the "show ring" bill  at the time of the sale.  Take the time to go look thru everything that they will show you.  You can find some real good cattle out there and learn sooo much about shorthorn cattle.  For not being in the shorthorn business for long, John sure knows cattle.  The BASICS stay the same no matter what breed!

 

[shortdawg]

The name Maternal Legends says it all - that's how he built what he has

 

[justintime]

I stopped in at Sullivan's in May, while delivering cattle, and was given the royal tour. Even though everyone was very busy that day, they took time out of their day to show us the cattle.This was my first visit to the Sullivan operation, and one of the pleasant surprises to me, was how practically run the cow herd was. Even the donors I saw were not being pampered, and I was able to see the cattle in their every day working clothes and to me, I got an opportunity to make an honest opinion on them. The bred heifer pen was simply amazing. I think there was between 135 -150 bred heifers in one large pen. They had all been synchronized and bred and they were holding them in until they had passed another cycle. They used MGA to synch the heifers and they said it had been working extremely well for them. Almost the entire pen were ET heifers, and many were full sibs. I tried to pick out the top heifer, and eventually came to the conclusion that it was be almost impossible to pick out the top 25, as there were so many good heifers, unless I stayed in the pen for a very long time. Every time I looked in another direction, I saw another outstanding female.

In regards to the Sullivan sale, as has been said before, there are many high top selling heifers. I do think there are some good buys and several heifers that have done very well this year in the show ring, came out of their sales at very moderate prices. As I said about the bred heifers, the quality is very deep. I am not going to tell you that all the cattle I saw there were great ones. They weren't... and I was also impressed with the fact that no attempt was made to try to pump me up with some BS about the poorer end.

It is possible to select some good heifers at realistic prices. As I was being given the tour, we stopped at one pen and saw a very good heifer that had sold in their sale for $19,500. In the very next pen stood an August heifer which I thought was very close in quality. My travelling partner, asked if this heifer was sold as well. When he found out that this heifer was not sold yet, he asked for a price and he was told $3500. Before you could blink, he said he would buy her at that price. They agreed to keep her until early fall for no additional cost, so we will pick her up in a few weeks.

If you are going to this sale, make sure you take enough time to sort through the offering. I am sure there are always sleeper heifers that will be excellent investments.

 

[mark tenenbaum]

whats the sale like? what do the open heifers usally bring? Sometimes as much as a house- (lol) O0 but there are some a little out of the most desired birth windows that are just as good and  well worth the scamolians.

 

[HeiferShower14]

how bout the shorty plus's how many of them are there and what do they bring?